Destruction in Odessa and the debate over Catherine II
The Odessa edition of Dumskaya reported that work began on dismantling the monument dedicated to the founders of Odessa in the city center.
Morning in Odessa unfolded with reports that the statue of Catherine II was being taken down. Access to the square was blocked, and people were not allowed to pass as crews moved in to remove the monument.
In response, Oleksiy Goncharenko, a deputy in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, wrote on his Telegram channel that some activity had started near the monument and that the area was cordoned off with people kept at a distance.
On the goal of protecting national interests
On August 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Odessa authorities to review the petition for demolishing the Catherine II statue. He emphasized that the monument had been erected by a decision of the Odessa City Council and highlighted the importance of safeguarding national interests and cleansing the public space from objects tied to Russian imperial and Soviet heritage.
On August 23, the city commission on history and place names decided to postpone the demolition. Dumskaya noted that the History and Toponymy Commission was weighing the initiative, while it remained unclear whether they could advise on removing the monument. Law professionals were also asked to share their perspectives on the dismantling.
By November 2, vandals had placed a hat described as the executioner’s on the empress and attached a gallows to her hand. The monument was repeatedly splashed with paint. On November 5, Odessa mayor Gennady Trukhanov announced that the majority of residents supported dismantling the monument via the Socially Active Citizen platform. The following day, a wooden enclosure surrounded the monument to the founders of Odessa.
On November 30, the Odessa City Council voted to dismantle both the monument to Catherine II and the monument to commander Alexander Suvorov. Forty-three deputies supported removing the Empress statue, while one objected and abstained. No votes were cast against the Suvorov monument, with forty-one votes in favor and three abstentions or non-votes. Deputy Alexandra Kovalchuk suggested transferring the monuments to the Odessa Art Museum after dismantling for temporary storage.
Monument to the founders of Odessa
Open sources trace the founding to 1794 when the Russian Empress II reportedly issued an edict establishing the city and its port. The monument to the founders was erected on Ekaterininskaya Square in 1900, following the design of Odessa architect Yuri Meletevich Dmitrenko. It honors Catherine II and her associates de Ribas, de Volan, Potemkin, and Zubov, who collectively contributed to the city’s creation.
The monument was unveiled on May 6, 1900, aligning with the 100th anniversary of the death of the commander Alexander Suvorov. At the 1901 Paris Architectural Exhibition, Catherine Square was recognized as among the finest in Europe.
After the February Revolution of 1917, the monument was covered and dismantled under Soviet authority. Statues of Catherine II’s associates were preserved in the local lore museum and endured through World War II, while the Empress’s own statue suffered partial destruction. A historical legend recalls a plan to melt the bronze into shells, but a sailor reportedly argued against it, suggesting the bronze should not come from fallen non-proletarian origins.
In 1965, to mark the 60th anniversary of the uprising on the battleship Potemkin, a monument to rebellious sailors was erected on the site of the founders’ monument.
Discussion about returning the Empress to her place with her associates began in the late 1980s. In 1995, Odessa’s city council voted to restore the founders’ monument using preserved bronze fragments and adding missing elements to the granite plinth, though that plan was halted by a presidential veto from Leonid Kuchma. In 2007, the council again pursued restoration while dismantling the Potemkins and relocating them to the Customs Square. The Empress statue had to be entirely rebuilt to harmonize the head preserved in the Local Culture Museum with the rebuilt body. The recreated monument was unveiled in October 2007, and the surrounding ensemble was later noted as being part of UNESCO-protected architectural monuments.